Hawaiian Electric rolls out enhanced online tool to help customers and contractors plan new PV projects

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Hawaiian Electric rolls out enhanced online tool to help customers and contractors plan new PV projects
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Hawaiian Electric rolls out enhanced online tool to help customers and contractors plan new PV projects
Contact: Peter Rosegg, 808-543-7780

Hawaiian Electric rolls out enhanced online tool to help customers and contractors plan new PV projects (Honolulu, Hawaii): To make it easier for customers and contractors to make informed decisions about installing new solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, Hawaiian Electric Company has improved its online Oahu map that helps with planning such systems. The Locational Value Maps (LVM) are available at heco.com by clicking on "Clean Energy," "Clean Energy Generation," and then "Locational Value Maps." Hawaiian Electric's enhancements to the online Oahu map tool include:

1. Customers and contractors can now search for a specific street number and name instead of just street names. As several electric circuits may serve a street, this new capability makes it possible to pinpoint the circuit status of a specific home or business.

2. Data is now updated nightly on weekdays, making the information timely.

3. Map colors now more precisely show how much customer-sited electric generation of any kind is on a circuit.

4. The tool now shows how much circuit capacity for distributed generation remains before reaching a 15% checkpoint that may indicate the need for further study before more distributed generation (DG) can be added to that circuit.

When large amounts of PV and any form of customer-sited distributed generation are already installed on an electric circuit, Hawaiian Electric needs to consider whether adding even more distributed generation may make electric service less reliable for all customers on that circuit whether they have DG or not. On Oahu, small solar PV systems of 10 kilowatts (kW) or less (such as might be installed on a single-family home or small business) generally do not require additional interconnection studies at this time. However, larger systems may present reliability concerns that require circuit studies and upgrades.

"This is one of many ways Hawaiian Electric is making it easier for customers to make informed decisions about adding solar PV to their homes and businesses and for PV contractors to help potential customers decide on properly sized systems," said Scott Seu, Hawaiian Electric vice president of energy resources and operations. "Our goal is to provide our customers and solar providers with information that is timely, precise and clear."
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About Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO)

For more than 100 years, Hawaiian Electric Company has provided the energy that has fueled the islands' development from a Hawaiian kingdom to a modern state. Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. (HECO), and its subsidiaries, Maui Electric Company, Ltd. (MECO), and Hawaii Electric Light Company, Inc. (HELCO), serves 95% of the state's 1.2 million residents on the islands of O`ahu, Maui, Hawai`i Island, Lana`i and Moloka`i.

The energy we use is an essential but limited resource necessary to maintaining our quality of life. In a changing world, Hawaiian Electric has evolved to offer more than electricity.

Today, the company also provides energy solutions to help customers save money and use energy more efficiently. Hawaiian Electric also continues to pursue the use of more clean, renewable energy alternatives to help ensure a sustainable future for our islands.

COMMUNITY COMMITMENT

Hawaiian Electric Company is dedicated to our community in which we live, work and serve. Rooted in Hawaii and one of the largest companies in the State, Hawaiian Electric takes the concept of malama pono -- to care for and serve -- to heart. The company and our employees have a long tradition of contributing with dollars, time and talent. Corporate citizenship is crucial to Hawaiian Electric's overall business plan because strong communities are essential to the success of the company, our employees and our customers.

Company and employee volunteerism is encouraged and every month, employees walk, run or provide manpower to dozens of non-profits throughout the State. Hawaiian Electric's corporate giving philosophy gives priority to projects that help families, promote education and protect the environment.

The company also sponsors robotics programs and events that promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) education, as well as the SunPower for Schools program bringing solar electric power to select schools, the Solar Sprint event where students design, build and race cars using solar power, and the Home Energy Challenge, a school-based competition encouraging elementary school students and their families to reduce energy use at home, among other programs.

For nearly a decade, Hawaiian Electric volunteers have provided manpower, bucket trucks and ladders to install Christmas lights at the Kaimuki Community Park and playground before the annual Kaimuki Christmas Parade in December.

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Hawaiian Electric rolls out enhanced online tool to help customers and contractors plan new PV projects

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